


au pair

by brandywine421



Series: romcoms [6]
Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27732214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandywine421/pseuds/brandywine421
Summary: "Have a seat, they're finishing up with another applicant but it shouldn't take long.  None of them take long," the soft-spoken Asian lady said.Frank tried not to make it obvious as he sized up the small law office.  The furniture was cheap, but nice and the plants and clean, open floor plan made it more welcoming than any of the law offices he'd visited.  Maria's lawyer's office definitely hadn't been this welcoming.He settled his gaze on the toddler, no, too young to be toddling yet - the child in the carseat on the lady's desk.  "Is that the Boss?"She nodded, smiling.  "Yeah, and much easier to please than his papa.  Granted, they don't spend much time apart - which is why you're here."*Frank is Matt's new Au Pair.
Relationships: Frank Castle/Matt Murdock
Series: romcoms [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1247531
Comments: 60
Kudos: 164





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think I've done this before.

"Have a seat, they're finishing up with another applicant but it shouldn't take long. None of them take long," the soft-spoken Asian lady said.

Frank tried not to make it obvious as he sized up the small law office. The furniture was cheap, but nice and the plants and clean, open floor plan made it more welcoming than any of the law offices he'd visited. Maria's lawyer's office definitely hadn't been this welcoming. 

He settled his gaze on the toddler, no, too young to be toddling yet - the child in the carseat on the lady's desk. "Is that the Boss?"

She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, and much easier to please than his papa. Granted, they don't spend much time apart - which is why you're here."

He was an adorable kid and obviously well-cared for even if his duck onesie didn't match his dinosaur socks. 

"Didn't get a lot of applicants your age," she said. "Or gender."

"My kids are going to schools outside of the city and I promised them I'd look around for a better gig than construction. Friend of mine got me this interview even if I don't think I have the qualifications."

"Oh, you're Karen's referral. Damn, I really didn't want to lose the bet but he hated my pick," she said.

He smiled. "You know Karen?"

"She's in there, part of the 'core four' but don't expect that to help you much. All his friends suggested people but Matt's very particular."

"It's his kid, of course he's going to be particular," Frank shrugged. The lady hadn't mentioned a mother so far so he assumed - well he wasn't going to bring it up no matter what he assumed.

* * *

The Core Four turned out to be two lawyers, Karen and a nun. Karen greeted him politely but he wasn't expecting special treatment after Ms. Wing's helpful warnings.

He picked out the father as the blind man who darted past him to check on the baby and very carefully not waking him from his nap.

"Thanks for your application, Mr. Castle, we hope you're still interested in interviewing for the Au Pair position," Mr. Nelson said after introductions had gone around and Ms. Wing herded the other one back into the office. 

Nelson and Murdock were well-known around the kitchen but Frank had been lucky enough to never need a criminal defense lawyer, Maria and Billy be damned.

"Yes, thanks for coming," Murdock said, shaking his hand. Frank saved his questions about his calloused fingers for later. Nelson had a lawyer's hands but Murdock - even discounting the bruise hidden behind his red glasses - had a fighter's hands.

Sister Maggie cleared her throat and started the interrogation. Experience with children, availability for errands and tasks, access to a vehicle - checkmarks all around.

"Is there a reason you're giving up construction to focus on child care?" Nelson asked, tossing the application paperwork aside.

"My kids want me to try something different and I promised I'd look around before taking another contract," he said honestly.

"What does their mother say?" Sister Maggie asked.

"It's not really her business," Frank replied automatically. Shit, he was at an interview.

"Do they have a relationship with her?" Karen asked with a glare for the nun instead of him, so maybe he hadn't shattered everything - yet.

"I took the kids to see her every weekend until they asked me to stop," Frank replied.

Sister Maggie raised an eyebrow and deflected Karen's look. "Oh. Your wife - "

"My ex-wife is serving 40 to life but the kids are old enough now to make the decision to see her for themselves. They saw her on Mother's day and her birthday," Frank stated flatly.

Sister Maggie nodded and he regretted how a nun's approval could still *get* to him.

"How old are your kids?" Matt asked. "Can you be away from them?"

"Lisa's fifteen and enrolled in the School of the Arts upstate for ballet and Jr's in Massachusetts at Science and Tech, he's fourteen. I don't like being away from them ever, but I don't want to hold them back. They both got free rides and worked their butts off to get in. Hoped we could work around their breaks if - "

"We can," Matt cut him off. Karen and the Sister seemed surprised but Nelson had a thoughtful expression on his face.

Huh. 

Nelson leaned over to sidebar with Matt but Frank made out his soft whisper. "You sure? You'll have to make sure he knows when you go out."

Matt motioned to his collar and Nelson glanced at Frank.

"You were a soldier, weren't you? Marines?" Nelson asked.

"Yeah? Why?" He hadn't included his service record on the CV but Karen probably knew.

"Dog tags," Matt said. He motioned to his throat again and flashed his battered knuckles. "I have enemies, my child's mother had enemies and - "

"He has elaborate security in place," Karen interrupted.

"I will protect kids, no matter who they belong to," Frank said, considering. "Would it have helped my chances if I put my service record on there?"

"For this family? Absolutely," Karen whispered.

"How do you know Karen?" Nelson asked.

"Gun range, she teaches self-defense," Frank replied.

She grinned brightly. "Frank enrolled his daughter's entire dance team in the 'danger stranger' course."

"Landed half of the boy's soccer team in urgent care when they showed off their technique at school - so no thank you for that," Frank warned her.

* * *

"You're ticking a lot of boxes, but here comes the test - not necessarily for you," Karen hissed at him when they broke for coffee.

That wasn't reassuring but he was glad for the coffee.

He knew all about being an overprotective father but it seemed to physically pain Matt Murdock to walk over to him with his son on his shoulder.

"This is Jonathan," Matt said.

"And?" Foggy called from across the room.

"And it's time for his bottle," Matt said through gritted teeth.

"Sure," Frank smiled, taking the baby who was awake and chipper. He had his daddy's eyes - and strangely, the Sister's - which might explain some of the weird dynamics. He'd be more comfortable with a doting grandma than a suspicious nun. Jonathan reached for Matt after a moment but Foggy pulled him back a step.

"Frank's going to give you lunch, Jonathan, I'll be - right here," Matt said.

"Good job, great effort," Nelson said, tugging him across the room with a wink at Frank.

Sister Maggie brought over the prepped bottle and glanced over to where Matt was being reassured by Karen and his partner. "Thank you for humoring us."

"No humoring about it, I still run background checks on my kids' friends before I allow sleepovers," Frank replied.

"Matthew has always been fiercely independent. There was no question of custody when his girlfriend passed, but we didn't anticipate the attachment would - persist this long," she said, with a sharp glare at the blind man who seemed to be listening despite the distance. He was making a note of that.

"He needs to be available for court and to remember that he had a life that hasn't stopped regardless of his new responsibility," she continued. "Jonathan needs to learn a regular sleep cycle even if his father doesn't know the meaning of the words, and he needs to learn to let the child cry instead of coddling him - "

"Veto - " Matt called out but Karen hushed him.

"Maintaining a good work-life balance has always been difficult for Matthew, but we're all very hopeful that this arrangement will be good for everyone," Sister Maggie said. 

"I'm right here, you know damned well I can hear you," Matt grumbled.

"You're the one that put her in the core four," Foggy said, starting up a fresh round of hushed bickering that Frank quickly tuned out to focus on Jonathan.

* * *

  
"Sorry for the unorthodox interview, but congratulations on the new job. I'm glad it was you, and not just because I won the pot," Karen said as she met him outside of a nice, for Hell's Kitchen anyway, apartment building the following afternoon.

"I'm supposed to ask if I can share pictures because my kids are a lot more excited than I am," Frank admitted. "I mean, Jonathan seems great but his dad's a little snarly."

"Matt's a cinnamon roll, don't let his scowl scare you off," Karen said. "He's been through a lot, and he puts himself through a lot unnecessarily but hiring you is a step in the right direction."

"Should I ask about the mother or - " he hesitated.

"You should ask him, not us," she replied immediately. "We were not - fans but it's impolite to speak ill of the dead."

"Okay," he agreed.

"They loved each other, that was never a problem. They just weren't good for each other and Jon's the only good thing he ever got out of it," she continued.

The door to an apartment opened and Matt stepped out in socked feet and stern expression. "Can we **not** today, Karen?"

"Sorry, Matt," she winced, tugging him into a hug.

"Good morning, Frank," Matt said, words muffled into Karen's shoulder. "I started breakfast but there was a - _thing_ and it's not ready yet. I'm not late, though."

"You're not late," Karen laughed, smoothing his hair and waving Frank to follow her.

"What kind of thing?" Frank asked, taking in the kitchen counter lined with cans under an empty cabinet. Matt threw up his hands in frustration and Karen clicked her tongue.

"Did the delivery guys mess up the shelves or are you making a statement about the selection again?" Karen asked.

"I'm out of olives, I thought I had some but I don't think I added it to the list last week," Matt said.

Karen glanced at Frank. "How are you with extremely specific shopping lists?"

"My daughter's vegan and my boy's lactose intolerant," Frank replied. "Where's Jonathan?"

"In the cage," Matt said with a wave toward a playpen set up by the dining room table. The baby watched them with interest but quietly gnawed on a toy instead of crying. Frank wasn't sure babies were supposed to be this well-behaved.

"It's not a cage," Karen scolded as she put away the cans.

"I got in trouble for not putting the baby down enough when I first brought him home. They took all the child harnesses away," Matt told Frank. "Come on, I'll show you your space and answer any questions you have."

"Got a few of those," Frank said, picking up his bag and following him. He made sure to keep track of the open floor plan and where the furniture was in case he cleaned up.

"I'm still getting used to this apartment, I had to upgrade when Jonathan came along," Matt explained. "You can have your pick of either of these rooms, they have a full bathroom between them. If you ever need to bring your kids, they can use the extra. My friends usually end up on the couches because they have no manners," he added.

"This is nice, thanks," Frank said, putting his stuff down. 

"I keep - strange hours, that's why I need an 'au pair' instead of just daytime help," Matt said, opening a door across from the bedrooms. "This is the security room, it has cameras and shit I don't have any use for. I have great hearing, though, fair warning in case you're plotting anything within a three-block radius."

He wanted to believe it was a joke but - okay. "I'm assuming your clients are the threats?"

"Well, not always the clients themselves, but we have made a few enemies," Matt hummed.

Yeah, Frank had done the Google searches.

"Jonathan's mother was - mixed up in some things that I'm not at liberty to discuss," Matt said, carefully. "Illegal, dangerous things that I don't want Jonathan to learn about from anyone but me, when he's much older. I loved the hell out of her and it wasn't enough - and I have a few more years to figure out how to explain it to him."

"He's, what, six months old? Take your time, buddy," Frank said.

Matt seemed to relax. "Right. You'll know what to look for when it comes to regular day threats, since you have kids of your own but - anything that pings your soldier instincts, or just your instincts at all - don't rule it out?"

"Do I need to ask for hazard pay?"

"God, I hope not - I just need to make it to court without blood or spit-up on my collar, I need to be late to Mass and on time for vaccinations - " Matt blurted out.

"Hey," Frank said, tapping his arm. "You're paying me to look after your kid and I need to know allergies and health conditions just as much as I need to know who's chasing his Dad. Don't water it down."

"Gangsters from his papa's side and ninjas from his mama's," Karen announced, walking in with coffee and Jonathan on her arm.

"Don't listen to your auntie, she's biased," Matt cooed, taking custody of the boy and nuzzling him close.

"I'll show you how to work the cameras and hook it up to your tablet with the nursery monitor. There's a gun safe in your room that Matt will have coded for your fingerprint when he gets you added to the apartment locks," Karen said.

Ninjas, that was new. But they were in Daredevil's territory - the red-horned bastard was Junior's obsession after he'd saved their school from an 'alien car chase' - but Frank did his best to ignore the rumors. He just made sure his kids were never out after dark unattended.

"Did you find the olives?"

"Yes but probably not the ones you wanted. I fixed the shelf, I'll walk through the rest with Frank while you - give me the baby, Matthew - go get ready for work." Karen tugged Jonathan away from his doting father. "Foggy's giving us the morning but we're all dedicated to making this work which means going to work without the baby."

"But - " Matt started but Karen successfully annoyed him out of the room.

"You have to be assertive. I bet Sister Maggie that you'd have him figured out in a week," Karen whispered.

"You have a gambling problem!" Matt yelled down the hall.

Jonathan giggled and drooled on her shoulder so Frank took over. It was his job, wasn't it? Solving the Matt Murdock mystery would just be a hobby.

* * *

It didn't take a week. It took a load of laundry.

* * *

Jonathan was an angelic baby, a poster-child for cuteness and Frank knew he was going to love this job - until Matt left the apartment with Karen's nails digging into his arm.

It took the baby three minutes to realize his father was gone but the screaming lasted a full ten. He followed instructions and waited to return the six texts on his phone once Jonathan cried himself to sleep.

He wasn't snooping considering his new 'job' and went through the cabinets to memorize the sorting system and figure out the labeling concepts. He loaded the dishwasher while he wandered and it made sense to swap out the clothes from the washer to dryer when he was investigating the laundry room.

Black pants, black shirts, nothing strange about that but the pronounced slashes and bullet holes and the random rope tangled and twisted around the center made sense when combined with the 'gangster ninjas' warning.

He was working for Daredevil. He poked his finger through one of the holes. Damn right, that guy could use the help.

He needed to add so many things to his list.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

"I hope you're not going to drag my son all over town every afternoon," Matt said when he clattered into the apartment after work.

"Wanted to make a good impression on my first day," Frank replied over Jonathan's excited squeals as his father stretched out on the carpet to greet him with snuggles and wiggles (but not a full crawl, not yet).

He knew the guy was blind and had great ears but there had to be more to it. His ass might be magical but - nah, it had to be more. "Why do I sense an uncomfortable conversation looming?" Matt asked.

"Psychic? Please say no," he winced.

Matt leaned his head to the side and 'listened' to the apartment. "You found my stuff."

"You're not supposed to wash rope in the machine and the blood didn't come out. Got 'em soaking in a tub in the gym room," Frank said. "Picked you up some new undershirts in the same brand and size but with less holes."

Matt banged his head against the carpet and Jonathan giggled, tugging at his hair. "Did you call the cops?"

"Nope."

"The news?"

"Nope. Introduced myself to your neighbors, though and got all their IP addresses for surveillance reasons."

"You - wait," Matt said. Jonathan stole his glasses to chew on which Matt allowed for only a moment before swapping it for his tie.

"Daredevil looks out for the neighborhood - my neighborhood. I need to take you by my place, too, it's less than a block away so you won't panic if I take Jonathan over," Frank remembered. "But - I support most of what you're doing around here - "

"You - are you a fan-boy? Foggy says I have fan-boys," Matt interrupted. Frank was lucky that he wasn't attracted to dramatic assholes because - he was just lucky.

"Both my kids are fans, I'm just an - appreciative citizen with a new job that made me sign a nondisclosure agreement before the W-2," Frank said. "You hired a stranger to look after your kid, the hell are you thinking, man?"

"My life has been a spiral of endless chaos since my ex-girlfriend turned up eight months ago with a bounty on her head," Matt said, sitting up and carding his hand through his son's thick hair.

Oh. "You didn't know - "

"Do you think vigilantes should have children?" Matt asked but didn't give him a chance to answer. "Because - there's never a guarantee that I'll come home alive and the city's not safe enough, there wasn't enough time and now there's - Jonathan and - "

"Spiral of endless chaos, though?" Frank cut him off. "Go change out of your work clothes, I dropped off your dry cleaning and - "

"Stop being competent, I'm spiraling with my son right now," Matt protested.

"I'm going to make dinner while you give Jonathan his bottle. Want to talk about him leveling up to solids," Frank said. "I can use store-bought but I saw your fridge and figured you might want to blend his own meals."

"I have no idea. I mean, I'm a picky eater because of unnatural causes, hopefully he won't inherit any that. He does okay with store-bought formula," Matt said.

"Think about it instead of spiraling," Frank smiled, scooping Jonathan off his chest for motivation.

"You really washed my ropes?" Matt asked, falling back into a sprawl on the floor. Ugh, that wasn't motivation for Matt, that position was motive for madness. He would make a better jungle gym for Frank than Jonathan in that position.

"Didn't find your bat-cave, if that's what you're asking. What happened to the red armor and horns?"

"Bad memories. Shot to shit, anyway, but - been distracted by the spiral. I'll put it back on the list," he sighed, full of drama.

"Please. I'm contractually obligated to make sure everyone here is clean, dressed and fed properly and you're paying me way too much to skimp on your evening wear."

"I didn't hire a maid," Matt said but he did push himself to his feet and put his glasses back on - not that it helped with the motive. "I'm taking Jonathan, gotta teach him how to pout."

A pout from Matt might be the most dangerous threat he'd have to face.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably going to add little bits to this as they dribble out _(that sounds gross but so are babies so shrug)_ so treat it like 'mudskipper', it's totally complete until I drop another chapter in. :D


	3. Chapter 3

  
Matt methodically picked out Frank's chopped ingredients one by one to sample before tucking into his pasta. He wanted to be impressed at the guy's aim when he snagged the herbs sprinkled on top.

"You gonna pick at my food every time?" He decided to go with insulted instead of impressed in the end.

"You gonna cook like this every night?" Matt countered, pointing his fork in Frank's general direction. "It's - I've been existing on take-out and what I can make myself. Forgive me for appreciating a home cooked meal."

"Not every night, but I'm more optimistic about this job than I was yesterday," he admitted.

"Maggie was worried Daredevil would be a deal-breaker if you found out," Matt said. 

More like she wanted to win Karen's bet but he went with it. "Is she your mother?"

Matt didn't flinch, but it took a moment for him to nod. "I only met her a couple of years ago. Our - whatever - is a work in progress."

Frank chewed slowly. "You sure?"

"Yeah. It's complicated," he waved off.

"She's a nun and she's your mother, I already knew it was complicated," he said.

Matt snorted but the small smile was a reward. "Guess so. Well, she was still in training when she met Dad, fell in love and married him. She got sick, postpartum depression, when I was born and went back to the church. She was only a few blocks away and Dad never told me. When he died, I got put in the orphanage, her orphanage. But I only officially met her a couple of years ago."

Frank put his fork down. "She was at the orphanage the whole time?"

"Work in progress. She made it a point to not treat me differently than the other kids, didn't want to show favoritism. She shows Jonathan all the favoritism, though, I think he must remind her of Dad," Matt said.

 _Wow_. Frank doubted she knew Matt's _father_ when he was a baby. "You trust her with him."

"Yeah, it drives Foggy nuts but I do. She's got nursing experience and we met because of Daredevil so she was already my go-to medic. Ellie had gone a few rounds before she found me so Maggie helped her get well, healthy enough to deliver."

"That must've been interesting." Frank wondered if he knew how expressive his face was when he couldn't see. He had to be a shit liar.

"Complicated, but sure, I guess it was interesting, too. She was a big help keeping the baby hidden and safe while we dealt with the rest of it."

"Hidden?" Frank paused.

Matt shrugged. "Not a lot of people know that Jonathan's mine, or where he came from. It's been - a lot to handle. I'm expected to take him public now, if only for babysitting backup, or else Foggy and Karen are going to revolt. I can't keep my name on the firm if I can't rep my clients in court."

"I'll have more questions about that later because a lot of locals seemed to recognize the kid when I was out shopping today," Frank said.

"He goes to church with me every Sunday, but the nuns help. Daredevil doesn't have children," Matt said quietly. "I'm not the best at hiding in plain sight, but it's - not going to be a problem anymore because nobody's hunting him. We're sure - finally sure, that Elektra's enemies didn't know about Jonathan." 

Maybe, but Frank was going to keep his eyes extra open. He needed to do some research on ninjas in Hell's Kitchen. 

"You want to fill in some blanks for me or do we need to alternate interrogations?" Matt asked, plate clean.

"I'm an open book compared to you," he admitted. "Everything I wanted to hide got spread across the news when my ex-wife got arrested."

"I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the case," Matt said.

Frank didn't like talking about it but Matt had been spilling tea all night so it was fair play he laid out his own mess of a life. "I served a couple of tours in Afghanistan, mostly classified ops. Had a tight team, friends, thought they were close as family." He took a swallow of his beer. "My friend got a medical discharge, for psych reasons. He didn't have family stateside, Marines was his life so Maria fixed up the guest room and welcomed him home."

Matt's face shifted with realization.

"Yeah, he moved into Maria's bed a few weeks later, looking back, don't think it was an entirely new thing," Frank sighed. "He started this security firm, paramilitary bullshit, and she was right there with him, shaking hands and signing checks. They were *not* expecting me to catch a discharge when I did. I come back to the two of them shacking up, 'living their best lives'," he spat out the quote, "While my kids were making their own lunch and riding the city bus because their ma's not home."

"Shit, that's - "

"Not the worst part," Frank cut him off. He needed to get it all out. "They made some dirty deals, a lot of 'em, and Billy was hoarding blackmail on a shit-ton of high and low level politicians that used to sign off on our classified ops. I would've forgiven Maria for the infidelity and probably most of the shitty scams, too - but they didn't give me a chance. She tried to fake it, like the kids hadn't already cried their faces off to me already, and Billy got spooked. Set up a frame-job to get himself off the hook, leave Maria holding the bag - but it went bad."

"That sounds complicated."

Frank nodded. "Yep. Twenty-seven civilian casualties during a sales demonstration, live ammo in all the weapons instead of blanks. I was supposed to be there with the kids, supporting Maria's business and all that, probably had a couple of bullets with my name on them but - I didn't go."

"Where were you?" Matt whispered.

"I was at a friend's place getting free legal advice from his cousin," he confessed. "I needed to make sure I could get full custody if we had to split and the kids were clingy that day, they didn't want to go to another sales pitch, so I had them with me. Maria was shit at hiding evidence, Feds were all over our house when we got back, they'd been tracking her for months."

"Frank. I'm so sorry."

"Thanks, but for once - I wasn't the one walking out with blood on my hands," he said. "I did a lot of bad shit with the Marines, shit that I won't ever get over, that I probably should be locked up for in another life - but - I'd never put my kids at risk, never put money before their well-being."

"Thank you for telling me," Matt said, reaching over and patting his hand.

He shrugged. "It's been a few years and it's not a secret. I'm not as angry as I used to be. Jr. says - we're better off because she's not dead but she's not around either. Once they came to terms with what happened, I knew I had to get on board."

"Shit, now I really have to meet those kids," Matt smiled, squeezing when Frank laced their fingers together. It was supportive, that's all. Single dads needed all the support.  
  


* * *

  
The first week was chaotic, but Frank did his best to make sure it was controlled chaos. He knew it was a test - for both of them - since Daredevil stayed in. 

Matt twitched every time Jonathan made a sound in the nursery and Frank had to, politely, make him stay while he took care of it. Which worked in theory when the baby made a sound the monitor could pick up on, but since Matt heard heartbeats and farts through walls, it was an adjustment all around.

Matt pouted every time, stopping whatever he'd been doing to pout - dinner, phone calls, pull ups - full stop to silently protest.

"He's only pouting because it still works on you, Foggy warned me about it when I first started working for them," Karen had told him between coos to Jonathan. He took Jonathan to the office for lunch twice a week, by majority office request.

Frank tried to, politely, distract him by asking about a news story or something to rile up his righteous fury but ended up having to crowd-source the solution. 

'Distract a Matt' involved putting something small 'and curious' within his reach. Foggy had given him the tip first, warning him that he could identify marbles and hard candy without taking the bait. He thought it was a cruel tease but Foggy, and Karen later, insisted it was the fastest way to break him from a looming fixation, and pout, apparently.

Matt seemed to consider it more of a treat than a trick, falling for the trap with an amused sound the first time Frank dropped a domino in front of him with a soft clatter.

He liked the chess pieces better because Matt would tuck them into his pocket for 'follow up fidgeting' and refuse to give them back until he was satisfied. 

Thursday's bishop was perched on the counter when he poured the coffee. "I'm still surprised you put up with that," Frank admitted when Matt settled into his seat with Jonathan on his shoulder for his morning burp.

"Foggy and I were roommates in college, he knows me better than anyone," Matt replied. "I'm still surprised it works as a multipurpose fix-it. Since I'm constantly filtering through an overload of information, smells, sounds, hell, emotions lately; he came up with it to break me of my 'thousand yard stare' when I'd get stuck on one."

"The 'thousand yard' part sometimes looks like a pout," he added with a tap to the chess piece, reminding Frank that he heard _everything_. "Since Jonathan, it's more of a paralyzing loop of all the ways I'm fucking him up - and since *you*, it's more of a internal siren of all the reasons I cannot be trusted with nice things. But the part that matters, is that you're working with my weirdness and - I appreciate that. More than you know."

Huh.

Matt smiled so he figured his heartbeat must have jumped. "Don't get excited, it's too soon for me to give you a raise. I'm inviting a couple of Daredevil's friends over tonight to introduce them to Jonathan and come clean about some things."

"You want me to clear out?" Frank asked, taking the almost napping baby from him.

"No," Matt said after a swallow of coffee. "I only work with a few people as Daredevil and you should meet them, if they forgive me to lying for them for months."

"You want me to cook?"

"I always want you to cook, but I was trying to drop a warning."

"Got it, cloudy with a chance of melodrama," Frank snorted.  
  


* * *

  
"I don't think he likes the carrots," Matt said, returning from the nursery to supervise Frank's cleanup of the kitchen after tonight's foray into solid food.

"He didn't try the carrots, he was too busy throwing them at my face, got his Daddy's aim," Frank grumbled. Matt shifted, head tilted in 'alert'.

"Is your company here?" Frank asked, learning the cues.

"Waiting at the elevator. Bitching about me having an elevator," Matt smiled distantly.

Frank had no idea what to expect but Matt wasn't braced for danger, he was using Jonathan as a cuteness shield. 

It was a great defense so Frank had no problem getting the door when the knock arrived. His kids were going to be so pissed that he wasn't getting them selfies with Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.

"Surprise," Matt said flatly.

The couple froze in place when they spotted the baby so Frank closed the door behind them.

"Sweet Christmas, this is what you and Danny have been hiding?"

"Luke, Jessica, this is Jonathan. A - parting gift from Elektra," he added, the beaming baby clawing for his shades. "That's Frank, he's my au pair."

Jessica spared him a glare. "Of course you are." Frank winked at her.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Luke asked, stalking over to pluck Jonathan out of Matt's arms. He immediately made faces to make the baby giggle instead of protesting the blatant kidnap.

"That's why Elektra came back," Jessica stated.

"She had people trying to kill her. I don't know if she would have told me about Jonathan if she didn't need my help. Not that I managed to help," Matt sighed.

"We could have helped," Luke grumbled.

"You did, but - I had to get my head around being a father. I can barely keep myself alive and now there's Jonathan and assassins and - " 

"He was in a spiral, it's a theme," Frank finished for him. Jessica snickered. "You guys want some coffee?"

"Please," Luke said with a kind smile.

Jessica moved forward and shoved Matt - hard - before crushing him in a hug. "You're an asshole."

"I know."

"Aren't you Catholic as fuck? How - " she paused.

"Condoms break," Matt sighed into her shoulder.

"Yeah, or crazy bitches poke holes - " Jessica started.

"Can we not talk like that about Elektra in front of the baby? Please?" Matt whispered.

She sighed. "Right. Let me see him, then."

Luke protectively curled his arm further around the baby. "Still my turn."

She sighed again. "Fine."

"You took the wind out of her sails, she's been dreading this visit for weeks," Luke said.

"I'm knocked up. Gotta ask for a break on team-ups," Jessica blurted out.

"Oh. Of course, whatever you need, of course," Matt said, flush with surprise. "But - "

"Condoms break," Luke shrugged, bouncing Jonathan as he passed him to Jess.

"Yeah, but - " Matt struggled for words.

"Sobriety had a strange effect on my sex drive, okay? We - won't talk shit about your dead ex if you never call our kid a mistake, deal, asshole?" Jessica asked, her harsh voice a shift from the soft expression as she coddled Jonathan.

"Watching her language is going to be a bigger deal than the sobriety," Luke teased but Frank could tell the guy was going to be a hands-on dad.

"We got a practice baby now," Jessica realized.

"Don't take my kid to Harlem, I haven't vetted the area," Matt told Frank when he brought over the fresh coffee.

"Noted," Frank lied, managing not to roll his eyes. He wasn't sure if Matt could 'hear' when he did that.

Jessica studied Matt before flicking her eyes to Frank. "We couldn't figure out why Nelson and Page had him locked down and we only saw him at night."

"Elektra ran until she couldn't anymore. I brought in Danny and Colleen as soon as she turned up. Colleen was raised Hand, she knew what to look out for. It was - touch and go before Jonathan was born but she - the kid has to come first always and that's all that mattered to Ellie at the end. That's all that mattered for all of us so we closed ranks and - he's safe. I can keep him safe," Matt added firmly.

"So you hired a bodyguard?" Luke asked, raising his mug toward Frank.

"Au Pair," Frank grunted. 

"Right," Luke grinned.

"I can't hide Jonathan forever and I need to start pulling my weight in the office again. Frank's got kids of his own and he clocked in that I was Daredevil on what, the first day?"

Frank shrugged with a hum. "Helps that my kids are obsessed with you guys."

"Karen and Fogs cleaned out Elektra's stuff before I got released from the hospital but - I've got a shit-ton of armored maternity clothes in storage. Baby stuff, too, but - you didn't let us make a big deal about the sobriety stuff, but we get to make a big deal about this," Matt said in a burst.

"Absolutely not," Jessica snapped.

"That would be great, Matt," Luke said, throwing an arm around Jessica to shut her down.  
  


* * *


End file.
